Racket for tennis, &amp;c.



No. 854,024. v1 ATENTL13 MAY 21, 1907. H. s. BRoWN.

' RAGKBT POR TENNIS, sw.

APPLIUATION FILED 00T.30, 1906.

Inventor:

Niva

- Attest:

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OEEIOE.

RAOKET FOR TENNIS, am..

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1907.

Application led October 30, 1906. Seal N0. 341,227..

To all whom t 'may concern.

Be it known that I, HORACE S. BROWN, a citizen of 'the United States, residing in Springfield, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new .and useful Improvements in Rackets' for Tennis, &c., of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part hereof.

In the Stringing of rackets for tennis etc. the gut strings are commonlyinterlaced with an ordinary over and under weave. As a consequence the strings sometimes slip upon one another, especial y when they are not stretched very tightly, so that the racket, in use, not only presents an undesirable appearance but actually becomes less desirable for use by reason of the lack of uniformity. This liability to slipping of the strings is sometimes counteracted to some extent by stretching the strings more tightly, but gut strings stretched very tightly have a tendency to break, especially in damp weather, and fre- Y quently pull the frame Out of shape; and

even in a tightly strung racket the strings will loosen with wear and time. Furthermore, many players prefer a loosely strung racket in order to better play cut strokes. Hitherto it has been regarded as impossible to overcome the slipping of the gut strings without changing the weave, or employing other means which would injuriously affect the utility ofthe racket. By the present invention it has been' sought to overcome the diiliculties alluded to without introducing other undesirable features, and to produce a racket which shall be substantially free from the liability of slipping of the gut strings and yet shall not be too tightly strun In accordance with the invention a smal extra thread of any suitable material, preferably gut, is combined with the standard strings of the racket in such a way as to lock the strings against slipping.

The invention will be more fully explained hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a view of a tennis racket which embodies the 'invention Fig. 2 is a detail view, on a larger scale, showing more clearly one way in which the locking thread is combined with the standard strings.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing the handle a and the frame l) of the racket are constructed in any vusual or preferred manner and the frame is strung with longitudinal gut strings c and transverse gut strings d, also as usual, the strings being interlaced with an ordinary over and under weave, as is usual in rackets. As the-strings are both hard and smooth, so that there is practically no indentation of one string by another at the point of intersection, and as the degree of bending of the strings in a racket of ordinary cross mesh is but. slight, it will be obvious that unless the strings are stretched very tightly, the displacement of one or another, to one side or the other, is comparatively easy and is in fact liable to be occasioned by contact with the ball. This liability exists in all rackets and is only partlyT avoided by tight Stringing, but in this case the utility of the racket, for many players, is reduced, a cut stroke, for example, being much more diflicult of execution if made with a racket too tightly strung than if made with one less tightly strung.

In accordance with the present invention, there is incorporated with the stand ard or ordinary strings of a racket, at suitable intervals, a small locking or binding thread of any suitable material, preferably gut, indicated at e. The function of this locking or binding thread is to bind together the stand ard strings at their intersections at such intervals as to practically eliminate the liability tov slipping of the strings between the points of binding and it is not required to bear any part in the stroke. `For this reason it may be quite iine and indeed is preferably made as iine as consistent with the degree of strength required for the stated purpose in order that it shall not present knots or protuberances at any point to affect the stroke.

It will be Obvious that the locking or binding thread may be incorporated with the standard strings in various ways to accomplish its intended purpose. As shown in the drawing it is preferably introduced with one of the strings and with it a half hitch is taken, as at f, about the intersection of the string with which it is introduced and each of the strings which it crosses. In practice it is found that two binding threads introduced longitudinally and two introduced transversely, in a tennis racket of ordinary size, are sufficient to prevent the slipping of the standard strings under any ordinary conditions. The number and disposition of the binding threads, however, as well as the particular manner of incorporating them with IOO IlO

15 ard strings and binding together such string the standard strings may be varied as desired to suit different conditions of use or the eculiarities of different players. It is thereore to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangement of the binding thread shown and described herein.

I claim as my invention:

l. A racket having a relatively fine binding or locking thread incorporated with the standard strings and binding them together at their intersections.

2. A racket having at intervals a relatively fine binding thread7 such binding thread being introduced alongside of one of the standand the strings crossing the saine at their intersections.

3. A racket having its standard strings interlaced With an over and under Weave and at intervals a binding thread introduced with one of the standard strings and having a half hitch over the intersection of such gut with each ofthe strings crossing the same.

This speciiication signed and witnessed this twenty fifth day of October, A. D., 1906.

HORACE S. BROWN.

Signed in the presence of:

. VINA G. POMEROY,

LUTHER WHITE. 

